Area football

The Cardinals fell into an early hole, and a comeback attempt fell short in the final seconds as Van Meter intercepted a Dalton Gilbert pass at its own 8-yard line with just :18 remaining to seal the victory.

"I was awfully proud of how we battled at the end," head coach Jon Pedersen said. "We can't put ourselves in the position to be down that early."

A blocked punt and a fumble inside the 10-yard line contributed to Van Meter's early start. Central Decatur also gave Van Meter six first downs on penalties.

Trenton Wells sparked the Cardinals in the fourth quarter, though, when he picked up a bad snap and ran 54 yards for a touchdown to cut the score to 21-14 with about 6:00 remaining in the game.

"Trenton Wells obviously had a big play that got us going," Pedersen said. "We didn't play extremely well most of the night, and then the fumble kind of energized us."

Following the touchdown, Van Meter drove the ball all the way to the Cardinal 1-yard line where they fumbled the ball and Central Decatur recovered with about 1:00 left.

The Cardinals drove the ball back to midfield where Gilbert attempted the long pass toward the end zone in a last-second effort to tie the game.

Central Decatur hosts Colfax-Mingo (2-4) on Friday for homecoming.

PCM 52, Interstate 35 12

MONROE — Interstate 35 fell to 0-5 for the season with its 52-12 loss to PCM, Monroe here on Friday.

The lone scoring efforts for the Roadrunners came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Briar Vogel and on a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by freshman Jaylan White.

The Roadrunners were held to just 151 yards of total offense — 102 yards rushing and 49 yards passing.

Senior Zach Cummings hauled in two passes for 21 yards, while Goering caught one pass for 19 yards.

Senior Brady Gray led the team with 11 tackles, including two for a loss, while senior Ethan Jones added 10 tackles. Mitch Vipond had three tackles and an interception, while Wyatt Davenport recovered a fumble.